US Vice President Vance to visit Rome amid strained EU-US relations

US Vice President JD Vance is set to visit Italy later this month as European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni adapt to the foreign policy changes under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Italy is one of the few countries in Europe that has looked to accommodate President Trump, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently saying she backed Vance’s scathing attack on European leaders that he made in Germany in February.

According to correspondence reviewed by Bloomberg News, the US embassy in Rome informed Italy’s foreign ministry on Tuesday about Vance’s planned trip. However, officials noted that the schedule remains tentative and subject to change.

Vance is expected to be in Rome from April 18 to April 20, overlapping with Good Friday through Easter Sunday, the letter stated. US diplomats have requested a meeting between Vance and Meloni, who has also expressed her intention to visit the White House, though no date has been confirmed for her trip.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini spoke to Vance by telephone two weeks ago, saying on Instagram afterwards that the call had “reaffirmed the strong friendship and cooperation between our two countries”.

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Meloni was the only EU leader to attend Trump’s inauguration in January and has carefully steered clear of any criticism of the U.S. president, even as he has hit Europe with tariffs and threatened to abandon Ukraine in its war with Russia.

In an interview with the Financial Times last week, Meloni supported Vance’s hard-hitting speech in Germany, when he accused Europe of censoring free speech, muzzling far-right political opponents and failing to control immigration.

“I have to say I agree,” Meloni was quoted as saying. “I’ve been saying this for years . . . Europe has a bit lost itself.”

Vance is a Roman Catholic but would be unlikely to see Pope Francis if he comes at Easter, with the pontiff still recovering from double pneumonia and not yet receiving visitors.

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Vance’s stance on Europe has raised concerns among some European officials, particularly after he accused leaders on the continent of straying from democratic principles. His approach risks further straining US- Europe relations amid tensions over the war in Ukraine and upcoming tariffs on EU imports.

With inputs from agencies